Hear Ye! Hear Ye! In the wake of Donald Trump’s victory I’ve been counselling colleagues, friends and loved ones not to over-catastrophise the situation. But when it comes to tech that is precisely what we need to be doing. As much as this is a victory for the
Hear Ye! Hear Ye! I never thought I’d write these words but ‘my favourite economists have just won the Nobel Prize’. Daren Acemoglu and Simon Johnson were two of three economists awarded the gong for their work over many years looking at the role democratic institutions play in driving
Hear Ye! Hear Ye! I think it was Spinal Tap‘s lead guitarist David St Hubbins who observed "there’s a fine line between stupid and clever." So too the overlords of AI who wax lyrical about the omniscient powers of their tech. We’ve just lived through
Hear ye! Hear ye! Thanks to all of those who attended this week’s Burning Platforms Live special briefing on privacy reform. It was our first live event since the lockdown and it was great to experience the energy of a virtual room. Those who have been on the journey
Burning Platforms, our fortnightly podcast brought to you by Per Capita's Centre of the Public Square, decodes the power of politics and Big Tech. This week we are bringing you a very special briefing on privacy reform where you can join us LIVE online. Register here to be
Hear ye, Hear Ye, They call it the bureaucrats battle-cry: What do we want? Incremental change! When do we want it? In due course! When it comes to government action on technology - be it AI or privacy - it seems our Federal Government is taking this ethos seriously. This
Hear Ye, Hear Ye. Some weeks can feel like years when you get the privilege to learn and grow and challenge your assumptions and the past seven days has been that for your humble Town Crier. The week traveling the nation with Audrey Tang and her off-sider Glen Weyl was
Hear Ye! Hear Ye! We are excited to be hosting Audrey Tang and Glen Weyl on their Australian trip next week and, if you are a Sydney or Canberra based supporter, we have events you can attend with us. First, we have a Sydney public lecture where I’ll be
Hear ye, Hear ye, I thought I was going to launch my Civility Manifesto last week, but then when I got to the point of delivering it, I realised that this was an act of self-delusion. Instead I gave this speech which steps out my thinking over the past few
Hear Ye, Hear Ye It’s time to open the kimono and reveal some of the thinking that we have been developing to inform the work of the Centre of the Public Square. Next Wednesday (July 17) I’m speaking at the John Cain Lunch where I’ll be unveiling
Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Over the past fortnight we have seen two compelling but contradictory calls for platform regulation that speak to the knot we are currently stuck in. On the one hand Telegram’s CEO Meredith Whittaker, a harsh critic of both corporate and government surveillance, has been in
Hear Ye, Hear Ye! I’ve just returned from the ACTU Congress in Adelaide, the bi-annual gathering to set the direction of the union movement. My two big take outs: (i) a good time was had by all and (ii) the coming AI wave loomed large over the whole event.